Geology topics

Roger T. Bannerman

Publications and source records attributed to Roger T. Bannerman.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

USGS1999

Sources of phosphorus in stormwater and street dirt from two urban residential basins in Madison, Wisconsin, 1994-95

Eutrophication is a common problem for lakes in agricultural and urban areas, such as Lakes Wingra and Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin. This report describes a study to estimate the sources of phosphorus, a major contributor to eutrophication, to Lakes Wingra and Mendota from two small urban residential drainage basins. The Monroe Basin empties into Lake Wingra, and the Harper Basin into Lake Mendota. Phosphorus data were collected from streets, lawns, roofs, driveways, and parking lots (source areas) within these two basins and were used to estimate loads from each area. In addition to the samples collected from these source areas, flow-composite samples were collected at monitoring stations located at the watershed outfalls (storm sewers); discharge and rainfall also were measured. Resulting data were then used to calibrate the Source Loading and Management Model (SLAMM, version 6.3, copyright 1993, Pitt & Vorhees) for conditions in the city of Madison and determine within these basins which of the source areas are contributing the most phosphorus. Water volumes in the calibrated model were calculated to within 23 percent and 24 percent of those measured at the outfalls of each of the basins. These water volumes were applied to the suspended- solids and phosphorus concentrations that were used to calibrate SLAMM for suspended-solids and phosphorus loads. Suspended-solids loads were calculated to be within 4 percent and 17 percent, total-phosphorus loads within 24 percent and 28 percent, and dissolved-phosphorus loads within 9 percent and 10 percent of those measured at the storm-sewer outfall at the Monroe and Harper basins, respectively. Lawns and streets are the largest sources of total and dissolved phosphorus in the basins. Their combined contribution was approximately 80 percent, with lawns contributing more than the streets. Streets were the largest source of suspended solids. Street-dirt samples were collected using industrial vacuum equipment. Leaves in these samples were separated out and the remaining sediment was sieved into >250 mm, 250-63 mm, 63-25 mm, <25 mm size fractions and were analyzed for total phosphorus. Approximately 75 percent of the sediment mass resides in the >250 mm size fractions. Less than 5 percent of the mass can be found in the particle sizes less than 63 mm. The >250 mm size fraction also contributed nearly 50 percent of the total-phosphorus mass and the leaf fraction contributed an additional 30 percent. In each particle size, approximately 25 percent of the total-phosphorus mass is derived from leaves or other vegetation.

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USGS1998

Effectiveness of barnyard best management practices in Wisconsin

In 1978, the Wisconsin Legislature committed to protecting water quality by enacting the Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Abatement Program. Through this program, cost-share money is provided within priority watersheds to control sources of nonpoint pollution. Most of the cost-share dollars for rural watersheds have been used to implement barnyard Best Management Practices (BMPs) because barnyards are believed to be a major source of pollutants, most notably phosphorus. Reductions in phosphorus loads of as much as 95 percent have been predicted for the barnyard BMPs recommended for priority watersheds.

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USGS1998

Evaluation of a method for comparing phosphorus loads from barnyards and croplands in Otter Creek Watershed, Wisconsin

Control of phosphorus from rural nonpoint sources is a major focus of current efforts to improve and protect water resources in Wisconsin and is recommended in almost every priority watershed plan prepared for the State's Nonpoint Source (NFS) Program. Barnyards and crop- lands usually are identified as the primary rural sources of phosphorus. Numerous questions have arisen about which of these two sources to control and about the method currently being used by the NFS program to compare phosphorus loads from barnyards and croplands. To evaluate the method, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, used phosphorus-load and sediment-load data from streams and phosphorus concentrations in soils from the Otter Creek Watershed (located in the Sheboygan River Basin: fig. 1) in conjunction with two computer-based models.

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USGS1997

Unit-area loads of suspended sediment, suspended solids and total phosphorus from small watersheds in Wisconsin

Watershed planners in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and in Wisconsin county governments use estimates of loads of total solids and total phosphorus in streams for numerous management purposes. A few examples of these are to establish load reduction goals, to estimate the relative magnitude of nonpoint sources compared to point sources, and to estimate phosphorus loads to lakes. Solids and phosphorus are two of the most common nonpoint contaminants resulting from agricultural activity. Loads can be estimated either by monitoring the water quantity and water quality in a watershed or by modeling those same factors. Monitoring is the most accurate method for load estimation, but it is also time consuming and expensive. A simple method of estimating loads of chemical constituents or suspended solids in a watershed is to use unit-area loads that have been calculated from monitored data to estimate loads in watersheds where monitoring data are not available. A "unit-area load" is defined as the mass of a particular constituent transported by a stream, divided by the drainage area of the watershed.

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USGS1996

Quality of Wisconsin stormwater, 1989-94

Water-quality data were compiled from four urban stormwater monitoring projects conducted in Wisconsin between 1989 and 1994. These projects included monitoring in both storm-sewer pipes and urban streams. A total of 147 constitu ents were analyzed for in stormwater sampled from 10 storm-sewer pipes and four urban streams. Land uses represented by the storm-sewer watersheds included residential, commercial, industrial, and mixed. For about one-half the con stituents, at least 10 percent of the event mean con centrations exceeded the laboratory's minimum reporting limit. Detection frequencies were greater than 75 percent for many of the heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in both the storm sewer and stream samples, whereas detec tion frequencies were about 20 percent or greater for many of the pesticides in both types of sam ples. Stormwater concentrations for conventional constituents, such as suspended solids, chloride, total phosphorus, and fecal coliform bacteria were greater than minimum reporting limits almost 100 percent of the time. Concentrations of many of the constituents were high enough to say that stormwater in the storm sewers and urban streams might be contrib uting to the degradation of the streams. In this report, constituents defined as potential contami nants are those for which the laboratory minimum report limit was exceeded for at least 10 percent of the sampled storm events, and for which at least one event mean concentration exceeded an estab lished water-quality standard. Storm-sewer sam ples had event mean concentrations of lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, and silver that frequently exceeded Wisconsin's acute toxicity criteria for cold water fisheries. Wisconsin's human cancer criteria was exceeded almost 100 percent of the time for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in stormwater samples from storm sewers and streams. Maximum concentrations of diazinon found in storm sewers exceeded recommended levels of diazinon. Storm-sewer samples also exceeded Wisconsin's ground-water enforcement standards for pesticides, PCB's, phthalates, and chloride. Defined by criteria in this report, poten tial contaminants included five metals (lead, zinc, copper, silver, and cadmium), nine polycyclic aro matic hydrocarbons, Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, four pesticides (DDT, atrazine, alachlor, and 2,4 D), suspended solids, chlorides, total phosphorus, BOD 5-day, and bacteria. Wisconsin stormwater quality was similar to stormwater quality monitored in other states. Nearly one-half of median concentrations of con stituents in Wisconsin stormwater were within 30 percent of the medians from other states. The clos est agreement was seen for biochemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, and total recoverable zinc. Similarities in stormwater quality for the storm sewer and urban streams indicated the storm sewers were a major source of water to the streams during storm events. Concentrations of potential contaminants in urban streams increased dramati cally during storm events as compared to baseflow concentrations.

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